I've made an effort to properly lose weight but have stalled in the last 2 months - and it's starting to creep up. I used to lift weights 3x/week and control the diet, but I can't lift for a while until some medical stuff gets sorted. This has taken a bit of a hit on my progress - or more likely,ive used it an excuse to slack.

The app makes it worth the money, for sure, regardless of whether the accuracy is better or not. I still don't think they'll be any better, for the same reason almost nobody needs to spend more than twenty quid on a multimeter.

I patiently await your appraisal, though, I'd be happy to be wrong, as I quite fancy a set of the Garmin ones.

The high reps give me a massive pump and leave me breathless. The latest studies show that high reps are just as effective at building muscle as low reps. They're also easier on the joints and give you a good cardio workout.

A 5 rep set is all over in a few seconds. A 30 rep squat or 20 rep deadlift is a whole other kind of beast. Your muscles will be set on fire and you'll be breathing like a horse at the end of the set. It's the difference between a little scuffle in the street and going a whole round in the ring taking pounding after pounding.

Any really effective drug is going to come with side effects, so I'd encourage you to think about the underlying causes first.

The biology for hunger and satiety is a bit more complex than most people acknowledge. You might do well to read up on hormonal regulators like leptin and ghrelin, and what affects them. For example, losing sleep can affect how we experience hunger and how we digest food.

The solution to your problem could be something as simple as eating slower, giving you a chance to feel satiated before eating too many calories.

It's well known that people are capable of eating a lot more calories from hyper-palatable foods like chocolate or salted chips/skinny fries. Something as simple as adding highly satiating foods like protein or vegetables, in place of snacks, might help.

Also, are you on any drugs for which increased appetite is a known side effect? Antidepressants, steroids, etc.?

It's also worth asking, are you currently underweight or overweight? Often our perceptions of our bodyweight dont line up with the reality. Have you experienced any kind of disordered eating in the past?

>>4738I drink quite a lot of water at work. This might sound daft but it feels a bit... thin and hollow is probably the best way to describe it; not filling. Perhaps I just need to add lemon or honey to it.

>>4739I'm not on any drugs. I'm about 5'11" and I'm not entirely sure on my weight; I think it's somewhere around 12 stone. I'm reaching the point where I'm going to have to go from 32" jeans to 34" ones.

I do eat vegetables with most meals. I think the issue might be that I follow a largely vegetarian diet and it simply doesn't fill you the way that meat does.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you're consciously registering cravings and mid-morning hunger pangs more because you're naturally climbing a jean size as you get older. 34" is fine and the increase is expected at this time of year with the winter gorging and Christmas treats. Eat and be merry now but get on the old bike come January to burn it off before summer.

>>4740> I'm going to have to go from 32" jeans to 34" ones
I'm 5'7 and a healthy weight and my waist is about about 32" you sound fine.

From a medical point of view you sound perfecly healthy, my crude math says your BMI is 23.5 and your body fat is under 20% if you want to be slimmer you are probably at the point where exercise would be better then dieting.

>>4740Get some scales. Healthy BMI was 20-25, but lower bound was taken down to 18. Sorry to say, but it's highly unlikely you have some hormonal leptin secretion defect that's influencing your weight. The answer is the same as it's ever been; and it's as horrible as it ever was -- eat less, exercise more.

>>4739There's a proven link between increased stress and weight gain, and a link between <N hours of sleep and increased stress. Aside from the other bad side effects, this is one way in which caffeinated beverages might hurt somebody on a diet even though they're 0-calorie. They're also diuretics, which I think is bad for appetite regulation.

That's another mechanism to link lack of sleep and overeating. Dr. Cheke's other research is interesting. The strength of your memory of how recently you eat, will influence when you eat next. If you eat with distractions (eg. using your phone, in front of the TV), you remember the episode less well, and eat your next meal sooner. She's investigating a hypothesis of a causal link between age-related memory impairment, and weight gain in middle age -- people gain weight in middle age; middle age is when memory begins to decline. Lots of interesting research, lots of academics and medics with lots of explanations as to why everybody's fat now. But there's a consensus on the solution, which is, "eat less, exercise more".

I'm starting a job in January that is further than my current and I'd want to use that time on public transport doing something useful like reading. The problem is I can go about 1 minute of reading while moving before I feel dizzy and get a headache. I'm fairly certain it would then evolve into a migraine.

A few practical suggestions spring to mind. If you need glasses, wear them. Similarly, books with larger and easier to read print are likely to be less aggravating. Experiment with facing different directions and places on the vehicle and see what works best for you. If you don't want to take medication, I've found ginger really helps as an antiemetic.

The nausea, in my experience, is actually caused by trying to hold the book too steady. Your inner ear feels your body moving, but you're focused on a book you're doing your best to hold still. It's these mixed signals that make you feel sick. Personally I relax my hands and arms so the book moves along with any bumps or swaying.

I got over it just through repeated exposure. When I started taking flying lessons I would get it quite badly, but by the time I got my licence it was no longer an issue.

It would be unpleasant to put yourself through it, but you could find that by just forcing yourself to do it every day (stopping well before you actually vomit of course) could get your body used to the sensation.

The missus combats this by sort of leaning her head towards the window, so the movement outside is still in her periphery while she's reading. In my mind that seems like it'd make you feel worse, but it works for her. She's a bit odd though.

Work it out in terms of cycles. You're going to want to run half a gram a week or 250mg e3d. Your cycle will be twelve weeks long, so you're looking at 2ml / week x 12 weeks = 24ml or roughly three bottles of gear. Don't forget your PCT.

PS: I would say don't be the next Moaty but we are in desperate need in one. Do it for us, lad.

I know it sounds terribly dramatic, but would getting some kind of face mask be a good idea for traveling around in vehicle dense enviroments? I had to spend several hours walking along packed roads today and I felt like shit; I got a ache at the base of my skull and I could taste and smell the acrid smog the whole time. Smog's not the right word because you can't even see it, but by heck it's there.

I sometimes use a mask I purchased for this very purpose from the Cambridge Mask Company.

One noticeable difference while wearing it out and about is that people are unable to see you smile at them. So if you catch someone's eye and want to be friendly, or bump into someone and want to look apologetic, you can't. It's quite dramatic how being bereft of that single facial expression can suddenly make you a social outcast, quite apart from wearing something odd in the first place.

>>4679u wot m8. Hijab's would cover the mask, so OP-lad wouldn't need to be self-conscious about his mask. Hijab's are the most socially acceptable way of covering your face that I could think of, hence the suggestion.

>People who pump themselves full of steroids then stand in front of a mirror all day aren't exactly the same as people who get a body like that through hard work alone.

I don't see why they wouldn't be at that point, I struggle to think of the job that would warrant someone passively developing a body like that, someone has to be going out of their way for some reason to develop that body, either because they are highly competitive or out of ascetics, and at that level of obsession I don't see why one is any more virtuous than the other. Mike Tyson was an absolute daemon at the height of his career but if you ignore the money, could you imagine your life being this heavily devoted to a few minutes of fighting, that isn't hyperbole either Tyson had 23 professional fights where he knocked out his opponent in the first round a lot of those in under a minute.
http://rippeder.com/content/mike-tysons-workout-routine-and-diethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tyson#Professional_boxing_record

I agree that bodybuilding is certainly better for you than being a fat cunt, but I'd be inclined to call it dysmorphia too. It's certainly a hobby for obsessives and is not without its own health risks. I say that as someone who goes to the gym 6 days a week.

Health benefits of following a vegan diet
Anonymous 18/08/19 (Sun)19:16
No. 4602Anonymous19th August 2018Sunday 7:16 pm4602Health benefits of following a vegan diet

Alright lads

Wondering if there's anyone on this who can shed any light on the health benefits/drawbacks of following a vegan or otherwise plant-based diet?

Reason I'm asking is that anything I find backing up my own experience seems a bit quacky or otherwise contains a bit of an agenda. Nutritional advice on the internet is mental.

Thoughts?

For myself, I cut out the shite at the end of December, and have noticed a lot of positive changes. My reasons for doing so were that I was getting a lot of colds, flus, coughs, fevers and the like. Since then, I haven't had a sniffle, I've lost 4 stone and my erectile dysfunction disappeared.

However, I'm not sure if those are a result of introducing a lot of veg, or a result of cutting out the mince and cheese.

>There are also plenty of vegans who don't really like cooking, and still manage to eat pretty well with minimal effort

This was what I've always wondered about. I'm a cheflad so when I think 'vegan' I think about lots of lentil and bean soaking, lots of roasting aubergines, and lots of complicated japanese tofu dishes. I suppose the reality for someone who isn't a food wanker like myself it's closer to quorn (or whatever else if that's not vegan) sausages and chips, but for some reason I never thought about that until now.

As someone who has to design menus I've always been very conscious of the limited choices you lot have in 'regular' restaurants. I'm sure there's only so many bowls of risotto one person can eat. I know it's getting better these days, but I still work hard to offer interesting options wherever I can.

I've been thinking about this a lot, really. As a professional I'm quite confident that I understand the wants and needs of people like me, i.e. meat eaters - I have that sixth sense for what people want on a menu, but it's always meat centric. Even my veggie plates often end up being adapted from meat based dishes - which is why I've been considering going vegan for a decent amount of time, maybe half a year minimum, so I can learn what it is you really 'want' when that's your daily diet. Not to mention I suspect it'll be cheaper and probably healthier for me, as I think about my fridge full of chorizo and fatty calf's liver and so on.

Sage for being a wanker and musing about the culinary mindset of a vegan as if you're an alien. Hopefully you get what I mean.

Personally, my favourite meals tend to be similar to thali. They're not necessarily very complicated, but they have a variety of distinct tastes and textures. I appreciate that cooking and plating lots of little things is a pain in the arse in a commercial kitchen, but some simple additions can make a big difference - some crunchy raw peppers in lemon juice or vinaigrette, a crispy little puri or some tortilla chips, a blob of chutney or relish, a little nest of grated carrot or sprouted seeds, a sprinkle of nuts. If my plate looks fresh and colourful, I'm probably happy.

One thing I've noticed in restaurants is that there's never just a nice big salad, it's always one that's intended to be served with a meat or substitute (halloumi is the 'in' thing right now), or otherwise something vegan that's still somehow pumped full of salt, fat and sugar through overly rich dressings.

It's not even a proper whinge though, but I'd like it if, when I'm dragged to a restaurant by the missus or mates that I can just enjoy the veg for what it is, cos it tastes nice enough to me as is.

That's just me though, as I enjoy simple food. It feels like there's a bit of a concerted effort to overcomplicate food even in the chains. Even the normal pubs round here are peddling sweet potato and halloumi like it's going out of fashion.

I've been doing a workout consisting of chin up, dip, squat, stiff deadlift, curl, OHP, and calf raise all for one set of 20.

Instead of just bouncing the weight up and own and cranking out the reps as fast as possible I've been doing the reps with a short pause after each one. It's about 5 seconds or 1-2 breaths. It takes about 3 mins to do each set of 20.

By slowing down and doing each rep individually it improves the mind-muscle connection and prevents you from getting too out of breath. Total workload is also higher since the rests allow you to use more weight. One set done in this fashion is probably worth 2 or 3 sets in normal continuous style.

Is that picture real? they look like a cut n shunt even the clothing style changes from dude bro to hipster. I fail to belive that guys legs could be that under developed. Even just carry the weight of his torso should make his legs bulkier then that.

>>4560Ok, the more I've examined your theory the less sense it makes to me. My max OHP is 67.5kg: 75% of that would be ~50kg. I can in no way do 20 reps of this, or even close. With bench I'd be doing 75kg and again, not even close. Ditto for every other lift without even getting started on chucking pause sets in there.

And why would anyone know or want to know their 1RM for bicep curls? It's an accessory, not a main lift, and one that's notoriously hard not to cheat on. And people cheat on it like the Dickens anyway, how often have you seen some jackass loading 50kg or what have you onto a barbell and practically throwing their whole body forwards to get it up? I'll admit this can be worth doing to overload the eccentric but it's not a clean lift in any way. I'm inclined to think you are woefully underestimating your 1RMs.

For all the people complaining that SS is a strength program unsuited to the everyday gymgoer, bear in mind that you will still get loads of those gainz you're seeking from it. Moreover when you improve your overall strength you're increasing the total volume you can lift for hypertrophy anyway. And you'll be learning good form which will protect you against injury.

The other day a friend suggested I had a testosterone deficiency due to how "soft" I am physically. I looked it up online and it struck a chord. I'm overweight, with fairly pronounced breasts and love handles. Even when I was underweight, my breasts and love handles were always disproportionately large. I've also been comparing myself with other fat men, and my breasts are perkier and more female looking than typical man boobs. So I'm going to go to my doctor and ask for a testosterone test.

Have any of you lot had any success with getting treatment for low testosterone?

I don't know about being influenced by Red Pill shite, but the symptoms of low T are about as broad and vague as those for gluten intolerance, which is why it's understandably easy for people to believe they've got it.

All in balance with your other hormones. Women have much lower testosterone, but they have other womanly hormones doing womanly things instead. You do supposedly live longer without testosterone but it has plenty of adverse effects on an otherwise healthy male not to have it.

Basically, there's "low testosterone" like in slim effeminate dudes like me- I might not be a muscular 'ard lad but I'm sure to have a full head of hair well into my 60s. And then there's low testosterone like in OP's case where it pretty much deforms you, he should have a much higher amount than he has so he's starting to look like a 1700s opera boy.

Well...yeah. I'll usually add 10 but honestly 5 is probably more sensible. I like to do reps to failure though so I have a very good sense of my capabilities as it is. I can often tell half way though my first set that I'm going to find it too easy.